Nat Hazards (2015) 75:28152828

DOI 10.1007/s11069-014-1465-0
ORIGINAL PAPER

Evaluating salinity damage to crops through satellite

data analysis: application to typhoon affected areas
of southern Japan
Kensuke Goto Takehiro Goto Jephtha C. Nmor
Kazuo Minematsu Keinosuke Gotoh

Received: 1 October 2013 / Accepted: 1 October 2014 / Published online: 26 October 2014
The Author(s) 2014. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com

Abstract In recent times, tsunamis and typhoons have threatened Japans coastal lands
with increased flooding and salinity. Using satellite data, we monitored the effect of
increased salinity on vegetation health in the coastal area of southern Japan, which was
affected by flooding following Typhoon 9918 in 1999. An index of plant activity called the
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was evaluated before and after the
typhoon, and the change in NDVI was computed as a comparison measure. The results
were then correlated with electric conductivity, which is a measure of soil salinity. A
strong negative correlation was found between NDVI ratio and salt concentration (r =
- 0.7731, n = 50, p \ 0.0001), indicating that the reduced NDVI values were attributable
to increased salinity from the flooding. These results not only provide useful insight into a
rapid method of assessing large-scale flood impacts using satellite data, but also validate
the monitoring of NDVI as an indicator of salinity damage to vegetation. To summarise, by
understanding the changes in vegetation health following natural disasters such as flooding
(as revealed by NDVI), we can potentially develop improved management strategies.
Keywords

Salt damage  Flood tide  Satellite data  NDVI  EC

Keinosuke GotohProfessor Emeritus

K. Goto (&)
Osaka Kyoiku University, 1-2-10 Midorigaoka, Ikeda, Osaka 563-0026, Japan
e-mail: goto@cc.osaka-kyoiku.ac.jp
T. Goto
Saga University, 1 Honjo-machi, Saga 840-8502, Japan
J. C. Nmor
Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria
K. Minematsu
Juntendo University, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
K. Gotoh
Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan

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1 Introduction
Globally, agriculture has performed remarkably well over the past couple of decades,
adapting to rapid population growth and delivering food at progressively lower prices.
However, in the coastal wetlands of Japan, this success is threatened by natural disasters
such as flooding and tsunamis. These natural phenomena increase the soil salinity of
agricultural land and endanger the soil micro-flora and micro-fauna (Fritz et al. 2007, 2009,
2011; Moore et al. 2011; Tchiadje 2007).
Japan was affected by flooding caused by Typhoon 9918 in 1999, and the tsunami
generated by a huge earthquake on 11 March 2011. Following these events, saltwater and
sediment were deposited across the cities surrounding the Pacific Ocean. The salts and
deposits may alter the salinity of soil and groundwater in affected coastal areas and cause
salt injuries in crops. Large floods and tsunamis occasionally cause extensive salt damage
by the infiltration of seawater, incurring catastrophic ecological and economic cost.
Salinisation of soil and groundwater by tsunamis and flooding is detrimental to agricultural production (Kume et al. 2009). Adequate water and nutrients are essential for
successful crop production. As has been well documented, excessively saline water and
soil imposes environmental stress on plants, inhibiting their growth (Leone et al. 2000;
Turhan 2005). Plants under salinity stress exhibit symptoms at physiological, and even
molecular, levels (Turhan 2005).
Salt damage to crops is caused not only by osmotic forces, but also by toxic levels of
sodium and chloride. As the sodium content of the soil increases, sodium ions are more
likely to be absorbed by the humus complex. Excessive sodium absorption also hardens
and compacts the soil, so that rain and irrigation water remain at the soil surface without
penetrating the root zone. Compounding the problem, excess sodium raises the pH of the
soil. At elevated pH, certain soil nutrients are sequestered and thereby become unavailable
to the plant. In summary, salt adversely affects production in tsunami-stricken areas by
increasing the alkalinity of soils, impeding the intake of potash nutrients by crops through
the cation exchange capacity (Tchiadje 2007).
The consequences of salt accumulation in agricultural soils are reduced plant growth
rates, diminished yields and (in severe cases) total crop failure, all of which threaten the
sustainability of agricultural production (Aldakheel 2011; Ashraf and Harris 2004; Zeng
and Shannon 2000). Mitigating and controlling the salinity problem requires a rapid,
reliable and cost-effective method of evaluating soil salinity in the root zone. Such a
method can be realised by integrating remote sensing (RS) data and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies.
Because remote sensing equipment observes a wide area at any one time and regularly
observes the same location, remotely sensed data have recently been used to assess the
impact of floods, tsunamis and other natural disasters (Barnes et al. 2007; Fritz et al. 2008,
2011; Gotoh et al. 1999; Kume et al. 2009; Liu et al. 2013; McAdoo et al. 2007; Middleton
2009; Nuttall and Armstrong 2010; Overton et al. 2006; Ramachandran et al. 2005;
Rodgers et al. 2009; Suppasri et al. 2012; Velmurugan et al. 2006). Furthermore, the effects
of salinity on vegetation (Wang and Xu 2008) and the impact of sea water and soil salinity
(Dan and Richard 2002; Datta and Jong 2002; Fritz et al. 2011; Gotoh et al. 1999, 2012;
McAdoo et al. 2007; Middleton 2009; Overton et al. 2006) have been evaluated from
satellite data. In particular, satellite data provide a vegetative activity measure called the
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), by which the impact of salinity on
agricultural crops and other vegetation can be quantified.

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Since salinity and exposure to force winds may alter (Gong et al. 2007; Wilson et al.
2006), it is hypothesised that the flood generated by Typhoon 9918 brought an influx of
seawater to northern Kumamoto, Japan, which has compromised the health of vegetation in
the coastal wetlands of that area. However, no peer-reviewed research has been published
on the effects of post-Typhoon 9918 flooding on the exposed vegetation.
Here, we investigate the changes in vegetation health in the cultivated areas of
Kumamoto Prefecture from the measured NDVI values. We then identify the link between
NDVI and soil salinity, aiming to estimate the vegetation damage caused by increased
salinity after the typhoon 9918-generated flooding. Finally, we construct an NDVI distribution map across the studied area.
1.1 Typhoon 9918 profile
Figure 1 shows the path of Typhoon 9918 in the study area (Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan)
on 24 September 1999. Quoting the (Japan Weather Association 2000), the typhoon began
at 0900 hours on 17 September 1999, on Okinawas South Sea and reached northern
Kumamoto Prefecture with medium strength at 0600 hours on 24 September 1999. It
became an extratropical cyclone off Abashiri at 1200 hours on 25 September 1999. The
maximum recorded wind speed was 66.2 m/s. To date, no higher wind speed has been
reported by Kumamotos Ushibuka Meteorological Observatory.
Flood tides are unusually high tides caused by dramatic drop in air pressure in the
presence of strong winds such as typhoons. As a typhoon with a low-pressure core
approaches, it exerts a suction effect on the sea surface, raising the tide level. In addition,
seawater can accumulate in winds blowing onshore from the sea. Bays open to the south
are particularly prone to tide winds when a typhoon moves north along the west bank and
southerly winds persist.

Fig. 1 Course of Typhoon 9918 in the Kumamoto prefecture (the study area) on 24 September 1999.
Original map provided by the Fukuoka District Meteorological Observatory

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Typhoon 9918 generated the highest tide level of the year during the early hours of 24
September 1999, when it arrived in north Kumamoto Prefecture and aggravated the spring
tides. Furthermore, the disaster-stricken Shiranui region was rendered vulnerable by its
tidal flat topographic nature comprising a long narrow bay surrounding the Yatsushiro Sea
(Takikawa 2000). As the typhoon moved north along the west side of Kumamoto Prefecture (see Fig. 1), it damaged Shiranui and other regions with conditions, especially
conductive to flood tides.
1.2 Damage profile
Besides destroying human lives and properties, Typhoon 9918 caused severe crop damage
due to influx of seawater by flood tides. The estimated cost of agricultural damage in
former Ryuhoku Town, the most damaged region of the affected area, was US $48.96
million. Most of the reclaimed land in Shiranui was flooded at the nick of harvest; thus, the
entire agricultural produce was lost.
Seawater dragged by the typhoon inundated 2488 ha of agricultural land across the
Kumamoto, Yamaguchi and Fukuoka prefectures. Increased salinity accounted for almost
all of the agricultural damage in the affected area. Salt accumulation was observed in the
soils of former Ryuhoku, Matsubase, Uki, Shiranui, Ogawa and Kagami Towns, affecting
successive seasonal farming activities until the soil was desalinated by the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The vegetation in these areas was mostly Soft Rush.
This vegetation was negatively affected after typhoon 9918. Kumamoto Prefecture estimated the costs of restoring the area damaged by Typhoon 9918 as $11.95 million. The soil
desalinization has been started after the soil salinity survey in 1999. After the removal of
saline sludge, drainage system has been improved. Then the approximately two times of
ponding and drainage have been performed in each rice field. These processes took for
35 months (Kumamoto Prefecture 2001).
The state of the agricultural land in the aftermath of the disaster is illustrated in Fig. 2a
d. Panels (a) and (b) of Fig. 2, respectively, show the flooded region immediately after the
damage and the state of Soft Rush grass (Juncus effusus) 1 week later. As demonstrated in
these images, salt damage and healthy Soft Rush were not easily distinguishable immediately after the event; however, salt damage became evident 1 week later (Fig. 2b) and the
Soft Rush became red before withering. This implies that an internal change occurred in
the Soft Rush during the 1 week period. Figure 2c, d show the agricultural land covered by
a thick layer of saline sludge carried from the sea by the flood tides.
Figure 3 shows the damage surveyed on site. A map of the flooding is presented in Fig. 3a.
The flood tides has overflowed from revetment (?5.3 m) lower than sea wall (?7.0 m), after
then flooded into residential area (?2.7 to ?3.4 m). The estimated highest high water level
was ?6.7 m. According to interview surveys, major flood damage immediately killed the
Soft Rush and glutinous rice in areas around flooded and burst banks. Figure 3b maps the salt
damage distribution constructed from surveys. Since the damage is visually difficult to
classify, a detailed assessment is not possible from these data alone. Hence, the state of the
damage was determined from proxy vegetation indices extracted from satellite data.

2 Materials and methods

When coastal lands are flooded by high tide disasters, the altered soil salinity affects the
land vegetation in tandem. Considering that salt enters the vegetation and reduces its

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Fig. 2 Agricultural produce damaged by Typhoon 9918. a Soft Rush immediately after damage (Source:
Former Ogawa Town, Town Hall). b Soft Rush 1 week after initial damage (Source: Former Shiranui Town,
Town Hall). c Agricultural land-damaging saline sludge, 1 (Source: Former Shiranui Town, Town Hall).
d Agricultural land-damaging saline sludge, 2 (Source: Former Shiranui Town, Town Hall)

activity, a correlation between NDVI ratio and soil salinity in salt-damaged areas would
validate the NDVI ratio monitoring method as a means of identifying salt damage.
To ascertain the damage characteristics, this study initially referred to various compiled
materials (such as typhoon profiles) and on-site survey results (such as maps of flooded
areas and salt damage). The flooding survey was conducted by field survey finding the
flood marks and hearing survey. The effectiveness of satellite monitoring methods was
then determined by computing the vegetation indices from soil salinity surveys of
reclaimed land in Shiranui and Ryuhoku Towns, Kumamoto Prefecture, and deciding
whether these indices correlated with NDVI maps generated from satellite data of
reclaimed land in Shiranui before and after the damage. The salinity survey was conducted
with measure EC, Cl and so forth of sample soil. This salinity survey has completed in not
only one survey, but also throughout the all surveys. If a correlation exists, we conclude
that vegetation index-based monitoring is an effective damage indicator, and we proceed to
generate NDVI maps of the entire affected region. These results will confirm salt damage
and determine whether disaster-stricken agricultural and forest land can be properly
monitored by satellite data.
The region of interest, comprising areas surrounding the Yatsushiro Sea that experienced strong winds from the typhoon passing along the west side, is shown in Fig. 4. The
images used in the study were Thematic Mapper (TM) images derived from the Landsat 5
satellite (ground resolution: 30 m) collected on 4 October 1998 (before the typhoon), 7
October 1999 (immediately after the typhoon) and 23 October 1999 (2 weeks after the
typhoon). The latter images were used to assess the progression of salt damage. Ideally,
pre-typhoon data should have been collected immediately prior to the damage on 7 October
1999, because the composition of Soft Rush and glutinous rice crops in the affected area

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Fig. 3 Damage distribution maps compiled from on-site data. a Map of flooded regions (taken from
contemporary Town Hall data). b Map of surveyed salt damage distribution (constructed by reference to
contemporary town hall data)

varies over time. However, well-timed data (and hence a quantitative analysis) were
precluded by the cycle of the Landsat satellite (17 days). Given that the agricultural
produce was approximately the same on 4 October 1998 and immediately after the typhoon
on 7 October 7 1999, we assumed that the data collected on the two dates would be similar.
Indeed, contemporary Town Hall members and farmers confirmed that the growth situation
and crop yields in 1998 were typical of those in the studied area. In addition, the growth
progress and presumed crop yields in both 1998 and 1999 were confirmed as almost

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Fig. 4 Analysed study area

identical prior to the Typhoon 9918. Consequently, the 1998 data could be reliably considered as healthy data when quantifying the effect of salt damage on vegetative activity.
The impact of salt damage was estimated from the pre- and post-typhoon vegetation
indices. The NDVI were calculated from the Landsat TM data as follows:
NDVI TM4  TM3=TM4 TM3

where TM3 and TM4 are the reflected luminances of bands 3 and 4, respectively.
Next, the pre- and post-typhoon NDVIs were compared and their differences were
determined by analysing the changes in vegetation activity resulting from the salt damage.
The change in vegetation activity after the typhoon is quantified by the NDVI ratio:
NDVI ratio post  damage NDVI=healthy NDVI

In terms of the healthy (4 October 1998) and damaged (7 October 1999) vegetation, the
NDVI ratio becomes
NDVI ratio NDVI on 7 October 1999=NDVI on 4 October 1998

The effect of salt damage was determined by comparing the 7 October data with data
collected 23 October 1999, 1 month after the flooding. The NDVI ratio was then calculated
as shown below.
NDVI ratio NDVI on 23 October 1999=NDVI on 4 October 1998

If the post-damage NDVI is lower than the healthy NDVI, the plant activity has been reduced
by the increased salinity. Conversely, a higher NDVI signifies enhanced plant activity.

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Converting the results of this analysis into an NDVI ratio map, we can assess the level
of salt damage in the affected area. If the NDVI is reduced in a locality, that locality has
been sufficiently affected by salt damage to alter the vegetation activity.
All individual satellite data were subjected to georeferencing and atmospheric correction. In all analyses, corrections were performed using PG-STEAMER version 4.2 (Pixoneer Geomatics Inc., Taejun, Korea) and ArcGIS version 9.2 (ESRI Inc., Redlands,
California, USA).
Soil salinity is surveyed by measuring the electrical conductivity (EC) of each piece of
land. In soil and agricultural sciences, the conductivity of the solvent saturating the soil
indicates the saline content of the soil (Larcher 2003). Specifically, EC measures the ease
with which electric current flows through a soil suspension in pure water (Chighladze et al.
2009; Kurtulus et al. 2009; Nuttall and Armstrong 2010). EC is proportional to the amount
of dissolved salts; an EC of 2.0 or greater is considered unsuitable for agriculture. In this
study, five on-site soil salinity surveys were conducted by the Kumamoto Prefectural
Office after the flooding by the typhoon 9918, especially in the tip of Shiranui land reclamation. The pre-damage NDVI ratio map was compared with the post-damage EC data
from 25 October 1999, close to the observation date of 23 October 1999.
A relationship between the NDVI ratio map calculated from satellite data and the EC
measure of soil salinity would confirm the applicability of NDVI as a proxy of salt content.
To determine whether such a relationship exists, the EC distribution map was superimposed on our constructed NDVI ratio map at 50 points arbitrarily selected by random
sampling. The correlation between the EC and NDVI ratio was then determined.

3 Results
3.1 Comparison of the soil salinity survey and NDVI ratio maps
Figure 5 shows the soil salinity survey colour map (Fig. 5a) superimposed on the NDVI
ratio map (23 October 1999; Fig. 5b is a superposition of the two maps on 4 October
1998). For each of the arbitrarily chosen 50 points, the NDVI ratio and EC were compared
and presented as a scatter plot of NDVI versus EC (see Fig. 6). The correlation has been
calculated between EC collected by salinity survey and NDVI ratio of approximately
1 month after the typhoon. The NDVI ratio and EC are significantly negatively correlated,
with a hazard rate below 1 % (Spearmans rank coefficient r = - 0.7731, n = 50,
p \ 0.0001). Thus, we have validated the use of damage classification maps constructed
from the NDVI ratio to identify salt-damaged regions.
3.2 NDVI ratio mapping of the entire studied area
In the previous subsection, the strong negative correlation between salinity and NDVI ratio
confirmed the effectiveness of monitoring by vegetation indices. Therefore, we generated
NDVI ratio maps of the entire studied area from the satellite data. Figure 7ac shows the
NDVI maps of the area. The same colour scale is used on all NDVI maps, but the threshold
of each panel is individually chosen to maximise readability.
Figure 7a is the pre-typhoon NDVI map from 4 October 1998, showing the pre-damage
state. Agriculture in the affected area was healthy and data were collected during the
harvest period; consequently, the NDVI was high across the entire area. By contrast,
Fig. 7b shows the NDVI map for 7 October 1999, 13 days after the salt damage. While the

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Fig. 5 Comparison of NDVI ratio and soil salinity survey maps. a Soil salinity survey map (constructed
from the Kumamoto Prefectural Office data). b NDVI ratio map 1 month after initial damage

NDVI remained comparatively high in former Kagami Town, it was markedly reduced in
sea-covered areas of the reclaimed land in Shiranui. Values were especially low in the
north- and south-eastern parts of the reclaimed land. Figure 7c) shows the NDVI map on
23 October 1999, approximately 1 month after the salt damage. NDVI was low across the
entire area, having further reduced during the 16 days following 7 October (Fig. 7b)
indicating a sharp drop in agricultural activity.
As revealed in the pre- and post-typhoon NDVI ratio maps (Fig. 8), salt damage was
widely distributed. Comparing Fig. 8a with Fig. 7a, b, we find that NDVI has remarkably
dropped in the north-east part of the reclaimed Shiranui land and in the south-eastern
reclaimed land near the Hikawa estuary. NDVI values were generally low in the coastal

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Fig. 6 Scatter plot of NDVI

ratio versus EC

Fig. 7 NDVI maps. a Pre-damage (4/10/1998). b Post-damage (7/10/1999). c Approximately 1 month after
the typhoon (23/10/1999)

regions, whereas no change was noticed in the former Kagami Town. Next, comparing
Fig. 8b with Fig. 7a, c, we observe low NDVI areas stretching inland of the reclaimed
region in Shiranui. The NDVI is reduced even in many regions of Kagami Town, especially in the south-west part of the Kagami River estuary.
Figure 8c shows the NDVI ratio 13 days post-damage and a further 16 days thereafter
(approximately 1 month after the damage). Comparing this plot with Fig. 7b, c, we can observe
the changes in plant activity induced by salt damage. This comparison offers insight into the salt
damage trends across the entire area over a 16-day period following the initial damage.

4 Discussion
This section discusses the survey results and analysis of the salt damage following
Typhoon 9918. The NDVI ratio maps (Fig. 8a, b) and the damage progression (Fig. 8c) are
referred to the flood map of the studied area (Fig. 3a).

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Fig. 8 NDVI ratio maps. a Immediately after the typhoon. b Approximately 1 month after the typhoon.
c Damage progression map, approximately 16 days after the typhoon

In Fig. 8a, which maps the damage classification on 7 October 1999 13 days after the
initial salt damage, vegetation activity is primarily reduced in the coastal region of the
reclaimed land in Shiranui. The map of the flooded regions (Fig. 3a) shows the flooded
area around the reclaimed land stretching to the southeast. Shiranui projects into a narrow
bay, giving the appearance of a cover. Consequently, the Shiranui reclaimed land area not
only receives an influx of seawater from the south-west during flood tides, but also buffers
the waves arriving at the Matsuai ward, Shiranui Town, where 12 lives were lost. These
areas are subject to severe flooding and are expected to be densely scattered with high
concentrations of sea-salt particles. Therefore, this reclaimed land was damaged more
rapidly than other areas.
The reclaimed area, particularly the north- and south-eastern parts, experienced large
NDVI reduction. As shown in Fig. 3a, the right bank of the Hachiken River running northeast through the reclaimed land was not flooded, but experienced the same NDVI reduction
as the flooded left bank. Salt damage across the entire area implied that even non-flooded
areas were scattered with high concentrations of sea-salt particles, which markedly reduced
their NDVI.
The NDVI was extremely low in the south-eastern reclaimed land around the Hikawa
estuary. Similarly low NDVI values appeared in the north-east. Flooding began on the right
bank of the Hikawa River, approximately 3 km upstream of the river mouth, at 0500 hours
on 24 September. The bank started overflowing between 0600 and 0700 hours onto an area
approximately 1 km inland, approximately 50 m downstream of the Ohashi Bridge. The
large volume of seawater inflowing from other inundated areas resulted in large-scale
flooding (Takikawa 2000). Hence, the high influx of seawater into this area must have been
chiefly responsible for the steep NDVI decline.
In the damage classification map constructed from 27 October 1999 data, approximately
1 month post-damage (Fig. 8b), the damage has spread to the interior of the reclaimed land
and former Kagami Town, which appeared relatively unharmed on 7 October. The NDVI
dropped in the flooded Hikawa river area of the reclaimed land; subsequently, the damage

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propagated into neighbouring regions. Low NDVI was also observed around the Kagami
River estuary. The initial salinity excess continued to internally damage the vegetation,
eventually reaching a peak (Gotoh et al. 1999). In these regions, salt brought in from sea air
and flooding remains in the soil, where it likely causes gradual damage.
From approximately 0600 hours on 24 September, both banks of the Kagami River
flooded over an approximately 3.3 km length from the river mouth to the centre of former
Kagami Town. By around 0700 hours, flooding had ceased apart from a small flooded area
of 254 ha. By contrast, 592 ha of land had flooded around the Hikawa River (Takikawa
2000). The Kagami region was flooded with saline seawater over a considerably shorter
period than the reclaimed land in the Hikawa estuary region; consequently, damage progression was slower than in the Hikawa estuary region. While the NDVI remained stable
for 13 days after the initial damage, a decline was noticed 1 month later. Salt damage had
now spread to the inland area of former Kagami Town, not by flooding but probably by salt
particles carried in the sea air.
Figure 8c shows how the damage progresses over time. Sixteen days after the initial salt
damage, the NDVI had dropped across the entire study area. Since salt damage affects
plant growth functions such as transpiration, reduction in plant activity is frequently a
gradual process, characterised by time-dependent progressive damage (Gotoh et al. 1999).
This effect appears in our results, indicating that satellite data indirectly reflect the characteristics of progressive salt damage.
Thirteen days post-flooding, initial salt damage is evident in reclaimed land around the
Hachiken River and to the south-east (see Fig. 8a), but discontinues thereafter. Crops in
this area were probably exposed to high salt concentrations and damaged more rapidly than
in other regions. If the crops were already dying by 7 October 1999, no further change in
NDVI would be observed.
Hence, on the investigated terrain and flooded areas, the distribution and level of salt
damage could be assessed in detail by NDVI monitoring. The salt damage distribution map
(Fig. 3b)was produced from surveys conducted by town hall personnel (excluding former
Kagami Town, for which no data were available). This map shows the distribution, but not
the level, of salt damage. Large-scale on-site surveys are rendered extremely difficult by
the cost, labour and time constraints. Furthermore, monitoring of damage trends requires
repeated surveying. In contrast, monitoring by remotely sensed satellite data can be easily
repeated to identify progressive post-damage vegetation changes, as demonstrated in
Fig. 8c.
These observations indicate that salt damage can be assessed from NDVI ratio maps
produced from satellite data. That is, satellite data can be exploited for salt damage
monitoring.

5 Conclusion
In this study, we calculated and analysed the NDVIs from satellite data to monitor soil salt
damage caused by Typhoon 9918. The relationship between NDVI and soil salinity is not
apparent because salt salinity is rarely investigated over wide areas. However, we acquired
detailed data of soil salinity immediately after the typhoon-induced flood, from which we
analysed the correlation between NDVI and soil salinity. Although such valuable attempts
have been previously made in Japan, we have investigated the most severely damaged area,
to our knowledge. Since the typhoon aftermath, a large-scale coastal area in north-east
Japan has suffered extensive salt damage by the huge tsunami following the Tohoku

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earthquake in 2011. Our study hints at an evaluation method that efficiently assesses salt
damage, which would be invaluable for land recovery following severe natural disasters.
The NDVI ratio is negatively correlated with soil salinity, indicating that salt damage
can be effectively monitored by methods based on the NDVI measure. NDVI ratio maps
produced from satellite data reveal the characteristic temporal progression of salt damage,
before eventually terminating. Thus, satellite data are applicable to salt damage
monitoring.
Soft Rush grass is not visually damaged in the first week following initial damage, but
thereafter becomes red and withered. This suggests that if salt-damaged Soft Rush can be
identified by remote sensing over the area during the first week of exposure, damage to the
plant can be minimised.
Acknowledgments We are deeply indebted to the town halls of Ryuhoku Town, Kagami Town, Matsubase Town, Ogawa Town, and Shiranui Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, for providing invaluable data and
information.
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the
source are credited.

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